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Michael Field
Michael Field was a pen name used by English poets and dramatists Katherine Harris Bradley (27 October 1846 - 26 September 1914) and her niece, Edith Emma Cooper (12 January 1862 - 13 December 1913). Lives Katherine Bradley was born on 27 October 1846 in Birmingham, England, the daughter of Charles Bradley, a tobacco manufacturer, and of Emma (née Harris). Her grandfather, also Charles Bradley (1785–1845), was a prominent follower and financial backer of prophetess Joanna Southcott and her self-styled successor John "Zion" Ward.Latham, Jackie E.M. "The Bradleys of Birmingham: The Unorthodox family of Michael Field", History Workshop Journal 55. She was educated at the Collège de France and Newnham College, Cambridge. Bradley's elder sister, Emma, married James Robert Cooper in 1860, and went to live in Kenilworth, where their daughter, Edith Emma Cooper was born on 12 January 1862. Emma Cooper became an invalid for life after the birth of her second daughter, Amy, and Katherine Bradley, being her sister, stepped in to become the legal guardian of her niece Edith Cooper.Sturgeon, 1922, pp. 14-17. Bradley was for a time involved with Ruskin's utopian project. She published first under the pseudonym Arran Leigh, a nod to Elizabeth Barrett. Edith adopted the name Isla Leigh. From the late 1870s, when Edith was at University College, Bristol, they agreed to live together and were, over the next 40 years, lesbian lovers, and co-authors. The first joint publication as Michael Field was in 1884. They had financial independence: Bradley's father Charles Bradley had been in the tobacco industry in Birmingham. As Field they wrote around 40 works together, and a long journal Works and Days. Their intention was to keep the pen name secret, but it became public knowledge, not long after they had confided in their friend Robert Browning. They were Aestheticists, strongly influenced by the thought of Walter Pater. They developed a large circle of literary friends and contacts; in particular painters and life partners Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon, near whom they settled in Richmond, London. Robert Browning was also a close friend of theirs, and they knew and admired Oscar Wilde, whose death they bitterly mourned. While they were always well connected, the early critical success was not sustained ( this is often attributed to the joint identity of Field becoming known). They knew many of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s, including Pater, Vernon Lee, J.A. Symonds, and Bernard Berenson. William Rothenstein was a friend. They wrote a number of passionate love poems to each other, and their name Michael Field was their way of declaring their inseparable oneness. Friends referred to them as the Fields, the Michaels or the Michael Fields. They had a range of pet names for each other. They also were passionately devoted to their pets, in particular a dog named Whym Chow, for whom they wrote a book of poems named after him. This continued a tradition of lesbian couples forming families that included beloved animals - the Ladies of Llangollen had established a similar household. Their joint journal starts with an account of Bradley's passion for Alfred Gérente, an artist in stained glass and brother of Henri Gérente, who was of an English background but worked mostly in France. It goes on to document Michael Field as a figure, amongst 'his' literary counterparts, and a pet dog. When the latter died in 1906, the emotional pattern of the relationship was disturbed; both women became Roman Catholic converts in 1907. Their religious inclinations are reflected in their later works, where their earlier writing is influenced by classical and Renaissance culture, in its pagan aspects particularly, Sappho as understood by the late Victorians, and perhaps Walter Savage Landor. Cooper died of cancer in 1913, as did Bradley less than a year later. A much-edited selection from the journals, which were two dozen annual volumes in ledgers with aspects of scrapbooks combined with a self-conscious literary style of composition, was prepared by T. Sturge Moore, a friend through his mother Marie. Writing Critical introduction by Lionel Johnson It is upon her tragedies that Michael Field can most justly rest a claim to distinction; the form of poetry in which the least excellence has been shown by English poets during the last and the present centuries. A careful student of the matter might come to the conclusion, that the best tragedies of the century have been written, either by poets not of the first order, or by poets of the first order, whose best work is not dramatic in form. Whether or no Michael Field be a poet of the first order, at least few poets of our century, with powers equal to hers, have found in tragedy the one form most congenial to their imagination. The palmary virtue of her tragedies we take to be their conception, and their treatment, of the ruling passions, and the dominant ideas of men and women. Many tragedians labour to express that in human nature, which is uncommon; and that in human fortunes, which is unusual. And this they do, not because by such means they can best bring to light the deep and radical passions, or ideas, of men, but for the sake of strangeness and of novelty. No one acquainted with the great Greek and English masterpieces of tragedy can condemn the tragic usage of what is uncommon or unusual; but he perceives that Sophocles and Shakespeare, each after his kind, concluded all under law; the sorrows of Œdipus and of Lear bear witness to something more lasting, and more universal, than themselves. It is the peculiar note or mark of Michael Field, that her tragedies have a profound spirit of this sort; yet a spirit very peculiar to themselves. In all her plays there is an appeal to man’s ruling passions and to his dominant ideas, but to passions and to ideas of one special kind. The appeal is always made to those human instincts, which are traditional, or inherited, or innate; not to passions from without, creatures of circumstance, or of chance. The motherhood of earth, with its deep and personal appeal; the claims of patriotism, with its holiness and its commanding sanction; the necessities of a man’s nature struggling to work out its destiny in fulfilment of inherited desires; all passions, instincts, and ideas which come from sources far off in the past history of a man, a race, a country, or which come from sources deeply rooted in one human soul: these are the materials of Michael Field. It might almost seem as though these tragedies, so full of this vehement and vigorous spirit, could only proceed from this age: an age in which history is concerned with the social combinations of men; science, with organic life; and studies of every kind, with origins, with developments, and with vital forces. That which a man of science, some master of the comparative method in history or in anthropology, would term a tendency, is for Michael Field a tragic motive: and thus she acts well upon that lofty definition of poetry, that it is “the impassioned expression, which is the countenance of all science,” and also “the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge.” And this very power of hers gives to her a fine simplicity of purpose and of construction: a scene here, a speech there, this or that character and phrase, may somewhat offend us; but never, in point of intention or design. Here we may touch upon the literary execution of Michael Field’s plays. In their virtues and in their vices, they are Elizabethan: the virtues are many, the vices are few. It will serve to indicate the admirable strength and beauty of Michael Field’s expression at its highest, if we make a bold comparison. It is reasonable to think that England will never give birth to a second Shakespeare; it is unreasonable to hold that no one can possibly catch anything of his spirit. Michael Field, at her highest point of excellence, writes with an imagination, an ardour, a magnificence, in degree far lower, in kind not other, than the imagination, the ardour, the magnificence of Shakespeare. In witness of this great claim, let us point to such passages as the last scene of “William Rufus,” with the speeches of Beowulf, the blinded Saxon peasant; to the third scene of “Fair Rosamund,” with the speeches of Queen Elinor; to the fourth scene of “Canute,” where Gunhild the Norse prophetess, confronts the king; to the scene of Coresus’ death in “Callirrhoë”; to the fourth act of “The Father’s Tragedy,” with the speech of starving Rothsay. And these passages are not brilliant, chance felicities, purple patches of composition; they are central, or final passages, in which the writer’s imagination becomes intense, and quickens into its most perfect form. And, the very faults or vices of Michael Field’s manner proceed from a laudable impulse; every phrase must be characteristic, there must be no commonplace, no sign of flagging. Hence come certain violences of expression, audacities and extravagancies, Elizabethan in style, but without the justification of Elizabethan dramatists. They had no traditions of English tragedy behind them; tragic verse was new, the classics were new, life itself was new, and all the romance and adventurous spirit of the world. Their extravagance, whether of careful Euphuism or of careless energy, was in equal measure an extravagance of ignorance, of inexperience. But in Michael Field, there is too often a deliberate style of mistaken ingenuity and force. Yet no reader, in whatever degree he felt this effect, could feel that it vitiated an entire play; the extravagance is merely verbal, never one of conception. It may also be, that this less happy style is the result of the peculiar spirit of these plays, and not only of Elizabethan influence. The cumbrous magnificence of Æschylus, ridiculed by Aristophanes, came of his vast and mysterious conceptions: the singular difficulty of Sophocles came of his subtle and quick conceptions. Just so may this occasional infelicity of Michael Field come of her love for, of her occupation with, those primitive or radical conceptions, the strength of which is expressed in struggle and in conflict. A certain fierceness and savagery are perceptible, in even the gentler and the more pitiful of Michael Field’s characters; as the poor and the simple are apt, under emotion, to speak in language of more than common beauty or strength, so do the men and women of these plays; and we must not be too hasty in concluding, that what may be a proper stroke of imagination, is but an inartistic mannerism. For, after all, Michael Field’s writing expresses character, it is characteristic. Perhaps certain modern readers or writers, who might see nothing but praise in that expression, would see nothing but blame, did we exchange “characteristic” for “moral.” It is a curious delusion of our times, that the words ethical and moral are taken to mean didactic and doctrinal; a lamentable, if also a ludicrous, mistake. Does a poet preach virtue or vice? In either case, he is didactic. Does he exhibit the lives, the actions, the virtues, or the vices, of men? He is moral. A poet, who tells the truth of things, whose imagination is true, may present the lives of men in their complexity, their suffering, their desire, with no word of doctrine or of advice, and his work will be inevitably moral; full of character, from his work, glad or sorrowful, pleasant or painful, the reader will inevitably learn something; he will learn something of the laws of life. This, indeed, is all that Arnold meant by his famous definition of literature; literature deals with life, as it appears to thought; poetry deals with life, as it appears to imagination; and imagination is the harmony of emotion and thought. It is this that Aristotle held in his poetics; where character with plot, that is, man in the struggle of life, is presented as the subject for tragedy, with all the ornaments of musical speech. Certainly, the plays of Michael Field bear the tests of Arnold and of Aristotle: “radiant, adorned, outside,” they are; they have also “a hidden ground of thought and of austerity within.” The lyrical poems of the volume, Long Ago, are suggested each by a fragment of Sappho. Many of them have the grace and charm of the Greek Anthology; but, since Catullus failed in translating Sappho, it is no reproach to Michael Field that she has composed some exquisite verses, but has not brought Sappho back to us. Indeed, Michael Field is not always happy in her lyrics and sonnets; they are apt to be too full of bold phrases and of struggling thoughts, which cannot contain themselves within their bounds. But in this age of finished pettiness and prettiness in poetry, it is a great thing to excel in the more arduous tasks. Not that a perfect lyric is anything but a rare and fine achievement, only the greatest poets can write a perfect lyric. But so many living poets, unable to produce lyrics of the highest excellence, still persist in their attempt, and produce innumerable lyrics of a poor quality, that the sight of a poet, grappling with the labours of tragedy, is an inspiring and a welcome sight. And much of Michael Field’s dramatic verse, in her pastoral or more delicate scenes, has all the grace and charm of a lyrical imagination. The scenes of the faun in “Callirrhoë,” of the fairies in “Fair Rosamund,” are instances of a quaint and pathetic beauty. One word, before conclusion, may be said about the historical character of the plays. All, but two, are concerned with history; all of the historical plays, but three, are concerned with British history. Following, in this too, a great tradition, Michael Field has composed plays upon subjects from Greece and Rome; but she has most frequently chosen the great chronicles or stories of our own land. In these, she has exercised a free discretion of treatment, caring rather for truth of spirit, and of substance, than of the accidents and of the letter. Thus, in “William Rufus” and in “Canute,” historical fact is little altered; but, as the dramatist tells us, it was the sight of the New Forest and of the Eastern Fens, that largely helped to inspire and to mould those tragedies of the Norman, the Saxon, and the Dane. The poet, no less than the Platonic philosopher, should be “a spectator of all time and of all existence”; and art is independent of social and national limits; but a poet is under no prohibition against patriotism; and to write historical plays, fine in art and fine in feeling, is to do good service for his country.from Lionel Johnson, Critical and Biographical Essay: Michael Field (Katherine Harris Bradley) (1846–1914), Women Poets of the Nineteenth Century, London: Routledge / New York: Dutton, 1907. Bartleby.com, Web, Feb. 8, 2017. Publications Poetry *''The New Minnesinger, and other poems. London: Longmans, Green, 1875. *Bellerophon. London: C. Kegan Paul, 1881. *''Long Ago. London: George Bell, 1889. Portland, ME: Thomas B. Mosher, 1897. *''Sight and Song: Poems. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1892. *Underneath the Bough: A book of verses. London & New York: George Bell, 1893. Portland, ME: Thomas B. Mosher, 1898. *''Wild Honey from Various Thyme. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1908. *''Poems of Adoration. London & Edinburgh: Sands, 1912. *Mystic Trees. London: Printed by Ballantyne Press for Eveleigh Nash, 1913. *''Whym Chow: Flame of love. London: Eragny Press, 1914. *''A Selection from the Poems'' (selected by Mary C. Sturgeon & T. Sturge Moore). London: Poetry Bookshop, 1923. *''The Wattlefold: Unpublished poems''. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1930. *''A Shorter Shırazad: 101 poems'' (selected by Ivor C. Treby). London: De Blackland, 1999.. Plays *[https://archive.org/details/callirrhofairr00fielrich Callirrhoe and Fair Rosamund]. London: George Bell / Clifton, UK: J. Baker, 1884 *''Callirrhoe: A drama'' (second edition). London: George Bell, 1884 **''Fair Rosamund. London: Printed by Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts, 1897. *The Father's Tragedy, William Rufus, Loyalty or love?. London: George Bell, 1884. **''William Rufus. London: George Bell, 1885. *Brutus Ultor. London: George Bell / Clifton, UK: J. Baker, 1886.. *[https://archive.org/details/canutegreatcupof00fieluoft Canute the Great and The Cup of Water]. London: George Bell / Clifton, UK: J. Baker, 1887. **''Canute the Great''. London: George Bell, 1887. **''The Cup of Water''. London: George Bell, 1887. *''The Tragic Mary. London: George Bell, 1890. *Stephania, a Trialogue. London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1892. *''A Question of Memory: A play in four acts.''Premièred by the Independent Theatre Society, 27 October 1893 London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, 1893. *Attila, My Attila!. London: Eklkin Matthews, 1895. *''The World at Auction. London: Printed by Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts, 1898. *''Noontide Branches: Aa small sylvan drama interspersed with songs and invocations''. Oxford, UK: Printed by Henry Daniel at Worcester House, 1899. *''Anna Ruina''. London: David Nutt, 1899. *''The Race of Leaves: A drama in verse. London: Hacon & Ricketts, 1901. *''Julia Domna: A play. London: Printed at Ballantyne Press for Hacon & Ricketts, 1903. *''Borgia: A period play. London: A.H. Bullen, 1905. *Queen Mariamne. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1908. *[https://archive.org/details/tragedyofpardond00fieluoft ''The Tragedy of Pardon and Dian]. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. **''The Tragedy of Pardon''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. **''Dian''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. *[https://archive.org/details/accusertristande00fielrich The Accuser, Tristan de Léonois, and A Messiah]. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. **''The Accuser''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. **''Tristan de Léonois''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. **''A Messiah''. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1911. *''The Orchard Floor''. London: R. & T. Washbourne / New York: Benzinger, 1912. *''Dedicated: An early work of Michael Field''. London: George Bell, 1914. *[https://archive.org/details/deirdrequestiono00fielrich Deirdre, A Question of Memory and Ras Byzance]. London: Poetry Bookshop, 1918. **''Deirdre''. London: Poetry Bookshop, 1918. **''Ras Byzance''. London: Poetry Bookshop, 1918. *''In The Name Of Time. London: Poetry Bookshop, 1919. Collected editions *''Michael Field, the Poet: Published and manuscript materials (edited by Marion Thain & Ana Parejo Vadillo). Peterborough, ON, & Lewiston, NY: Broadview Press, 2009. Letters and journals *''Works and Days: From the journal'' (edited by T. Sturge Moore and D.C. Sturge Moore). London: John Murray, 1933. *''Binary Star: Selections from the journal and letters, 1846-1914'' (chosen & annotated by Ivor C. Treby). London: De Blackland, 2006. *''The Fowl and the Pussycat: Love letters, 1876-1909'' (edited by Sharon Bickle). Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2008. *(unpublished journals are now available on microfilm) kept from 1888, annually, to 1914. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Michael Field, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 11, 2013. See also *List of British poets *List of English-language playwrights References * Sturgeon, Mary. Michael Field. George G. Harrap, 1922. * Vanita, Ruth Sappho and the Virgin Mary: Same-Sex Love and the English Literary Imagination (1996) * Donoghue, Emma We Are Michael Field (Absolute Press, 1998) * Treby, Ivor C. (ed). The Michael Field Catalogue: A Book of Lists (1998) * Prins, Yopie Victorian Sappho (1999) * Treby, Ivor C. Music and Silence: The Gamut of Michael Field (2000) Notes External links * 2 poems by Field: "A Summer Wind," "After Soufriere" *Michael Field at the Poetry Foundation *Michael Field in the Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse: "Midsummer Night's Dream," "Where the Blessed Feet Have Trod" * Michael Field profile and 3 poems, University of Guelph *Field in A Victorian Anthology, 1837-1895: [http://www.bartleby.com/246/942.html from Canute the Great], "The Burial of Robert Browning," "Wind of Summer," "The Dancers," "Lettice," "{http://www.bartleby.com/246/947.html Earth to Earth]," "An Aeolian Harp," "Iris" * Michael Field at PoemHunter (9 poems) *Michael Field profile and poems, Isle of Lesbos *Michael Field at Poetry Nook (63 poems) ;Books *Michael Field at the Online Books Page * ;Audio / video *Michael Field poems at YouTube ;About *Michael Field in the ''Columbia Encyclopedia *'Michael Field 1848-1914 and 1862-1913 at Isle of Lesbos. *"The Very Stage and Theatre of our Dramatic Happiness”: Scenes from Michael Field’s Rottingdean ;Etc. * Category:English poets Category:British women poets Category:Lesbian writers Category:Literary collaborations Category:Female authors who wrote under male or gender-neutral pseudonyms Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:People from Kenilworth Category:Writing duos Category:19th-century poets Category:19th-century women writers Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets Category:Pseudonymous writers Category:LGBT writers from the United Kingdom